Singapore Cup kicks off in style

By Chee Seong - AFF Singapore correspondent

Atsushi Shimono scores the second for Albirex

The first round of the Singapore Cup matches concluded with Hougang, Gombak, Albirex Niigata (S), Tampines Rovers, Home United, Etoie FC, SAFFC and Okkthar United (Myanmar) progressing to the quater finals.

In the opening match up between Hougang United and Harimau Muda (Young Tigers, as they're known), the hosts needed an injury time winner by Mamadou Diallo to earn its place in the last 8. 

The Young Tigers from Malaysia with an average age of 17.5 yrs, put up a creditable fight and pushed the Cheetahs (Hougang) all the way to the final whistle. The Young Tigers played some lovely football and reminded spectators at Hougang that age isnt a factor on the pitch. There were a couple of occassion Hougang had to survive the prospect of mutiple attacks which fortunately for the Cheetahs, the Young Tigers couldnt apply the finishing touch.

The Cheetahs were also left fuming their bad luck as they themselves had two brilliant shots rebound off the cross bar. The match ended 0-0 in regulation time, but Mamadou Diallo settled matters in the 4th minute of injury time.

At the Jurong West Stadium, Gombak United had to come back from a goal down, to sink Balestier Khalsa 2-1.

Gombak's achievement was marred by controversy. Balestier went ahead after 48 minutes when an umarked Anaz Hadee blasted a rocket into the top right hand corner of the net. Gombak equalised thru substitute Zulkifli Hassim's debatable goal, with claims by Balestier that he had handled the ball past the defenders to go clean through on 67 minutes. Chang Jo Yoon scored the winner in the 77th minute when he was play through by Park Kang Jin.

Paul Cunningham could have levelled the scores right at the death but he skied his shot high and wide. For this achievement,  Gombak qualifies for the last 8 for the first time in 3 years.

In the first of the two "all foreign" affair, Albirex Niigata (S) brushed South Melbourne aside with a 3-0 win at the Jalan Besar Stadium.

South Melbourne were missing key players such as Fernando De Moraes as well as regular skipper Steven O'Dor. Albirex were at full strength and the game also marked the return of skipper Shimpei Sakurada. Albirex led 1-0 at the break courtesy of Shotaro Ihata. The striker nodded home after some great work by Tatsuro Inui.

South Melbourne almost got themselves back into the game when Jesse Krncevic, the gaffer's son, rock the upright with a thumping header midway through the first half. As fatigue set in, due to the travelling and the climate change, South Melbourne finally succumbed to pressure. Atsushi Shimono and Shimpei Sakurada compelete the job in the 85th and 89th minute to take the White Swans into the next round. A brilliant game of top notch football, not one to be missed to be honest!

The eastern derby always produces a good games and this tie continued in that vein.

Depleted Tampines Rovers beat Geylang United 2-1 with the winner coming in the 88th minute from "little master", Aliff Shafaein. Aleksander Duric had given the lead on the half hour mark, and Vasile Ghindaru levelled the scores just before the hour mark. As the tie seemed destined for extra time, Aliff poped up unmarked to pounce home from close range after Yazid Yasin did well to parry a shot onto his path.

Tampines will probably feel a little fortunate that the tie was concluded in regulation time, as they had only 2 senior players on the bench. Had it gone to extra time, it might have gone the other way.

At the Bishan Stadium, Home United brushed aside Woodlands Wellington with a convincing 5-1 victory in a pretty one sided affair.

Firdaus Idros opened the scoring when Rams custodian fail to hold on to a high ball in the 29th minute. Kenji Arai, then score the simpliest of goals when he nod home right at the goaline from a Valery Hiek's flick. In the second half, substitute Asraf Rashid score within four minutes of his introduction onto the pitch.

Adrian Butlers pulled one back for the Rams, before Qiu Li's double completed the rout. Woodlands were delpeted from injuries and International call ups and had to make do with several reserve players for this tie. The Protectors (Home United) will now play traditional rivals Tampines Rovers in the Quater finals in August.

This will be a mouth watering clash as the winner of this tie will probably stand a big chance of securing the Cup come 5 November.

Reigning S.League champions Etoile FC were made to work against a very deligent Tanjong Pagar United side, which saw Taufiq Rahmat and Cyril Bagnost playing instrumental roles in this tie.

Despite the defeat, Tanjong Pagar took heart from their performance on the pitch and head coach Terry Pathmanathan is optimistic on big things to come for the remaining of the season. Jonathan Toto scored a brace, and both goals, were due to two defensive lapses during the game. Other than the goals, it was a pretty evenly fought match which we saw the Jaguars (Tanjong Pagar) came out to attack for once.

Gone were the "bus parking" tactics and there was industry and creativity in every area on the pitch. Etoile look solid as ever, despite being out of competitve action for close to a month. At the end of the day, there was only one team that could progress and Etoile took their chances and their ticket to the next round were booked.

At Choa Chu Kang stadium, three-times Singapore Cup winners SAFFC finally broke a two-year streak of crashing out in the group stages. Singapore Selection team midfielder, Erwan Gunawan justified his recent call up with a splendid display, scoring two goals, as well as assisting Indra Shahdan in between his goals. Substitute Fazrul Nawas scored within minutes of coming on to ensure there's no way back for Phnom Penh.

A realtively one sided affair but Kingsley Njoku, former Gombak United's striker, was a constant threat to the Warriors defence. At the end of the day, SAF proved too strong for the Cambodian champions and set up another mouth watering clash with Albirex Niigata (S).

In the second of the "All foreign" encounter, Myanmar side Okkthar United led by former Singapore National Coach PN Sivaji overcame their rivals Pattaya United 2-1 in an interesting encounter. About 1200 Myanmar fans turned up at the Jalan Besar Stadium for this match which was telecast live and these people made their intention know - to qualify for the next round. 

Okkthar United drew first blood in the 7th minute of play when Aung Moe cleverly lobbed the Pattaya goalkeeper and with a huge slice of luck, the ball spin off the bounce and onto the upright and into the net. The fans went wild.

Prior to this, Okkthar United had never played a game under floodlights as the National league's games are all played at 3:30pm local time.

Jean Roger Lappe Lappe then doubled that advantage when he scored within minutes of coming on as a substitute. The second half was dominated by Pattaya but they couldnt find a way past Cameroonian Pierre Djanal, who kept goal for Okkthar. Somchai Singmanee scored a consolation in the final minute of added on time, but it proved too late as the side from Myanmar book a meeting with Hougang United in the next round.

The quater-finals will be scheduled between 14 August to 21 August. Games will be played over 2 legs.

The fixtures are as follows:

Home United vs Tampines

Etoile FC vs Gombak United

SAFFC vs Albirex Niigata (S)

Hougang United vs Okkthar United (Myanmar)

    

Makudi re-elected as FAT president

By Kitinan Sanguansak - AFF Thai correspondent

Makudi celebrates his re-election on Friday

Worawi Makudi pledged to lead a reform of the national setup following a landslide victory to win his third successive term as president of the Football Association of Thailand.

A close eye has been kept on the presidential election after it was controversially postponed last month, heightening the prospect of major structural change at the Association after the Thai team’s recent miserable run of results.

Worawi, despite being the target of public criticism for Thailand’s poor form, retained his post with relative ease in the rescheduled poll held yesterday at the National Football Training Centre in Bangkok’s Nong Chok district, receiving 123 of the 168 votes.

The election, though, was marred by a repeat of the controversy that led to the cancellation of last month’s poll, with more than one person claiming to be the sole representative of one member club.

However, Association officials this time decided to strip the club in question of its voting rights, and proceeded with the election as scheduled. 

Of the three candidates who had put their names forward as challengers to the incumbent, only two – Virat Chanpanich, an executive member of Worawi’s administration, and Pichete Munkong, the former president of Thai Port FC – received endorsement at the meeting.

After some 20 minutes of polling Worawi was declared the winner with almost triple the number of votes cast for his nearest rival, Virat (44), while Pichete picked up only one. 

Worawi quickly outlined his plan for his third two-year term in office, with reform of the national team as one of the priorities.

“I would like to thank all clubs, whether they voted for me or not. From now on, I’ll dedicate myself totally to the work, however tough it is. An overhaul of the national team management will be a priority of my policy.

“I’m open to constructive suggestions from anyone, either the fans or the media. However, each decision needs to be made by the [FAT’ s] executive board. I will take time to find well qualified people to become members of the new board,” said Worawi, who also sits on FIFA’s executive committee.

Regarding the more pressing issue of finding a new national coach, following the resignation of former England and Manchester United captain Bryan Robson, Worawi has yet to set a deadline for a new appointment. 

“At the moment, we are not able to make any decision with regards to Robson’s successor. After I complete my FIFA commitments at the Women’s World Cup in Germany, we should get a better idea of who will be the new coach. 

“So far, several foreign coaches have expressed an interest in the job. However, I have yet to decide whether the next coach will be a local or foreigner,” said Worawi.


     

2010/11 I-League in review

By Arunava Chaudhuri - AFF Indian correspondent


Salgaocar celebrate their first I-League championship

The fourth edition of the I-League, India's professional football league, came to an end on June 1 after one of the most interesting seasons in Indian football ever.

In the end Salgaocar Sports Club from Goa became the surprise champions while former National Football League winners JCT from Phagwara and Mumbai's ONGC went down to the second Division.

The I-League lasted for nearly six months, but the first couple of months were played without the 30 India players amongst coach Bob Houghton's probables for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. This had an effect on some teams who had numerous players at the camp.

Kolkata's East Bengal Club were the league's early pace setters as they won their first six matches and looked to be the team to beat as they came into the I-League having won the Calcutta Premier Division and Federation Cup titles.

But a mid-season slump by the red-and-gold initially with numerous draws and then also defeats allowed Salgaocar SC to close in and then grab the top spot. Suddenly the Goans, who no one really considered as title contenders, were in the lead and until a few weeks before the end of the league it looked as if they could seal the title before the last match day.

But losses to Air India, Dempo SC and Mumbai FC made the title race interesting again. But they won their key match 3-2 against rival title contenders East Bengal Club after being 0-2 down, with that match instilling enough confidence in the team to ensure that they did not allow the title to get out of their hands.

Salgaocar won their final game of the 2010/11 season against JCT in Ludhiana on May 30 to ensure that none of the other contenders could catch them. It is the first I-League title for Salgaocar, but their second overall national league title as they had been champions of the old National Football League in the 1998/99 season under coach Shabbir Ali with players like Juje Siddi Roberto Fernandes, Derrick Pereira, Shanmugam Venkatesh, Jules Alberto, Alvito D'Cunha and the legendary Bruno Coutinho.

Now a new generation in green-and-white has created history led by their Moroccan coach Karim Bencharifa, his coaching staff, the club management and a young team led by the seasoned Yakubu Yusif from Ghana and Japanese recruit Ryuji Sueoka from the front.

Salgaocar's strength has been the team, with Karim able get the best out of his boys with players like Gilbert Oliveira, Cajetan Fernandes and other youngsters making their breakthrough as the team also had an able goalkeeper in Karanjit Singh at the back.

"This triumph means a lot to me, my players, staff and management. I would also like to dedicate this triumph to the Salgaocar fans. They were really behind us, especially at home and that helped us a lot," said an overjoyed Karim.

For Karim the title came in year five of his coaching stint in India. After two years with Churchill Brothers SC (2006-08), close to two years at Mohun Bagan (2008-10) and over a year at Salgaocar SC (2010 - ...), he has finally won the title on the third attempt. At all three clubs he has built teams from scratch and he did it around strong foreigners, seasoned locals and giving young Indians a chance to launch their career.

While the young Salgaocar team was the positive surprise of the season there was also a negative highlight too, Dempo SC's 14-0 victory against Air India on the last match day. It is the biggest victory in the history of the league and as one would expect rumours of match fixing and other wrong doings did the rounds, but nothing was proven and the All India Football Federation did not order a probe.

What remains from the 2010/11 season is that it was a transition year towards the full professionalisation of the I-League. It won't happen next season, but we are getting closer to see a fully professional league in India in the years to come.

Robson's resignation prompts more questions

By Kitian Sanguansak - AFF Thai correspondent

Former England and Manchester United captain Bryan Robson’s ill-fated reign as Thailand’s national team coach sums up the Football Association of Thailand’s rudderless management under guidance of Worawi Makudi.

Robson’s resignation from the national post hardly came as a surprise since it had long been a matter of when, not if, the inevitable would happen following a period of disappointment during the 54-year-old’s tenure, which lasted nearly two years.

People might have been pleased to see the back of the Englishman, who officially took over the national team from compatriot Peter Reid in October 2009. However, Robson has only been made as a scapegoat for Worawi’s abuse of power as the head of the FAT.

In fact, the course of events since Worawi, currently holding the FAT post on caretaker capacity since his term ended in December, had tied the future of Thai team with England with Reid’s appointment in September 2008 raised the question as to whether he ran the association with vested interest.

It certainly is normal for a nation to have a foreigner as its national team coach. The question, though, was why Thailand chose a coach from England, whose national side ironically has been coached by a foreigner since 2001, save for a small period in which Steve McLaren was in charge.

It even became doubly dubious why the FAT selected former Sunderland manager Reid and then Robson, two men whose managerial careers were on decline, for the job to revive the Thai team’s fortunes.

The circumstances of the appointment of those two English coaches looked just as suspicious since it happened during the period when England started its bidding campaign to host the World Cup in 2018. The fact that Worawi was one of the FIFA’s powerful 24-member executive committee, who decided the Cup hosts, appeared to provide the explanation why Thailand’s relationship with England in term of football became closer than ever.

When it became clear that Robson was out of depth with a run of poor results, culminating in the premature exit in the recent ASEAN Championship, the FAT opted to turn deaf on the calls, which appeared to grow louder each day, for his resignation.

That led many to question whether a rumour, that the English FA was Robson’s real employer, had something to do with the FAT’s preference to keep the Englishman, whose coaching career included stints at Middlesbrough, West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield United.

The timing of Robson’s resignation looked suspicious for Worawi, as it came when his ties with England became strained following the bribery allegation against him made by David Triesman, the former chairman of the English FA and England’s 2018 World Cup bid team.

Even though Worawi was absolved from the accusation that he asked for the TV rights of Thailand’s home friendly with England, there was lingering doubt that Triesman’s revelations might be true since it was an open secret that the game in question, which was later cancelled by the English FA, was a part of deal the Thai had to support England in the voting.

Worawi confirmed that Robson’s resignation had nothing to do with the row with the English FA triggered by Triesman’s accusations and the two parties parted company in an amicable manner. His cause, though, was not helped by a report that Robson was unhappy with the FAT’s failure to arrange more international fixtures for the Thai team as requested.

How is it possible for a team to embark on its World Cup qualifying campaign next month when it has not played a match since the turn of the year? That is the case for the Thai national team.

Worawi might blame the FAT’s current vacuum of power for the Thais’ plight. However, there indeed would have been a new president by now had it not for his controversial decision to call off the election last month.

With Robson now gone, who will take responsibility for wasting two years for nothing?

 

RHB Singapore Cup 2011 kicks off

By Chee Seong - AFF Singapore correspondent

 

The 14th edition of the Singapore Cup will kick off this week, starting on Friday 10 June.

 

With Courts Young Lions out of the tournament due to a training tour in Sydney, there will be one additional foreign team in the competition this season. A total of 16 teams will feature in the tournament, with the competition being scheduled in three windows, with the first window being from 10-17 June 2011.

 

In this edition, Singapore football fans will witness the participation of representatives from Myanmmar (Okkthar United FC), Thailand (Pattaya United FC), Australia (South Melbourne FC), Cambodia (Phnom Penh Crown FC), and Malaysia (Malaysia U19).

 

2010 RHB Singapore Cup winners Bangkok Glass FC decided not to participate this year due to their hectic schedule in the Thai Premier League. There will be two all foreign affairs when Pattaya United plays Okkthar United and when S.League team Albirex Niigata entertains South Melbourne FC.

 

It will be a "home coming" for several players in these teams, who once plyed their trade in the S.League. This also includes the "return" of PN Sivaji, former National Team coach of Singapore. He will be leading Okkthar United in their quest for glory.

 

The RHB Singapore Cup had seen seven different teams lay their hands on the trophy. Home United (4), Tampines Rovers (3) and Singapore Armed Forces FC (3) have dominated the past 13 years of the competition. Tanjong Pagar United FC and Geylang United FC were the other local winners of the tournament. In 2010, Bangkok Glass FC defied all odds to create history as they became the first ever foreign side to be crowned Champions of this competition.

 

The fixtures for the first round are as follows:

 

10 June 2011

Hougang United FC vs Malaysia U19

 

11 June 2011

Gombak United FC vs Balestier Khalsa FC

 

12 June 2011

South Melbourne FC vs Albirex Niigata (S) FC

 

13 June 2011

Geylang United FC vs Tampines Rovers FC

 

14 June 2011

Home United FC vs Woodlands Wellington FC

 

15 June 2011

Etoile FC vs Tanjong Pagar United FC

 

16 June 2011

Singapore Armed Forces FC vs Phnom Penh Crown FC

 

17 June 2011

Pattaya United FC vs Okkthar United FC

 

All matches Kicks off at 7:30pm (Singapore time)

 

Live feeds of the above mentioned matches can be found at www.twitter.com/ligasingapura

 

With the largest number of foreign teams entered this year, will there be a second successive foreign winner or will a Singapore team prevail? Stay tuned to find out.

 

   

Read more from Chee Seong on Singaporean football on his Liga Singapura blog.

 

    

Qiu Li stars as Singapore crush Maldives

Asian Football Feast's new Singapore correspondent, Chee Seong, reports on last night's international friendly between Singapore and the Maldives.

Singapore's starting XI against the Maldives

As it has been six months since the National Team played a competitive match, this was an eagerly anticipated affair.

Singapore coach Raddy Avramovic named his "new" squad of 33 players two weeks ago and started training on 31 May 2011. Preparation for the match, however, was affected by the S.League which was still in action during that time.

The Lions, as the Singapore team is known, sprung straight into action from kick off and went ahead after just 13 minutes. Qiu Li, who had been missing from action through multiple injuries played Jumaat Jantan through on goal, only for the Maldive's defender to bring him down for an obvious penalty. Up stood Qiu Li and he cooly put the ball away for a 1-0 lead.
  

Qiu only needed six minutes to double his tally. This time round, he created his own space, own chance, and scored probably the goal of the game. Operating on the left side of a five-man midfield, Qiu twisted and turned around three defenders inside the 18 yard box, and sent a screamer from an acute angle into the bottom left hand corner of Mohamed Imran's goal.
   

Shi Jiayi was next on the score sheet as Singapore made it look easy on the half hour mark. Recieving a ball with his back to goal, Jiayi turned brilliantly and unleashed an unstoppable shot into the top left hand corner to make it 3-0.
   

The Maldives had their chances as well, however the killer instinct just wasn't there. Team captain Ashfaq Ali, operating as an attacking midfielder just behind his two strikers showed plenty of promise but was cut out consistently by Singapore's youngest ever international captain, Hariss Harun (20) and Daniel Bennett.

  
This match was meant to be part of the preparation for the game against Chinese Taipei or Malaysia and it was obvious that the gaffer would give some of the new boys a run . Only three out of the 23 in the entire squad did not taste action. 
   

Three minutes after the restart, Aleksander Duric connected with former SAFFC team-mate Saiful Esah's cross, having beaten the offside trap perfectly, to put the tie beyond the Maldives' reach. 
  

In the post match conference, Maldives' coach Diego Andres Cruciani mentioned that he is beginning to worry because their opponent in the WCQ2014 is the Islamic Republic of Iran. Coach Diego also singled out Qiu Li for special praises.
  

"The number 25 is a very clever player. He is a complete player I would say."
   

Singapore Coach Raddy was happy with the first 45 minutes of the game and he pointed out that in the second period, due to trying out youngsters, the plan went a little "off", but overall, he was still pleased with the team's performance.
   

Singapore will next face Laos at the Jalan Besar Stadium on 18 June as the Lions prepare for their WCQ tie on 23 and 28 July. 
  

Singapore: Lionel Lewis (Izwan Mabud); Jumaat Jantan (Ruizaini Zainal); Daniel Bennett (Safuwan Baharudin); Hariss Harun (C); Ismail Yunos (Shaiful Esah); Isa Halim (Mustafic Fahrudin); Shi Jiayi (Shukor Zailan); Qiu Li (Hamqaamal Shah); Shahdan Sulaiman; Fazrul Nawas (Khairul Nizam); Aleksander Duric (Andrew Tan)

Maldives: Mohamed Imran (Faisal Mohamed); Mohamed Sifan (Hussain Niyaz); Umair Mohamed (Ahmed Shafiu); Abdul Ghani Assad (Abdulla Haneef); Ahmed Saeed (Sameer Fairooz Adam); Arif Mohamed; Abdul Ghani (Shamdhooh Mohamed); Naseer Mukhtar (Ibrahim Shiyam); Fazeel Ibrahim; Ashfaq Ali (C) (Fasir Ali); Ali Ashadh (Lareef Adam)

Attendance: 2166

  
Read more from Chee Seong on Singaporean football on his Liga Singapura blog.

  

Zhang says AFC needs to "clean up and unite"

Zhang Jilong and the suspended Mohamed Bin Hammam

By Zhang Bin - AFF Chinese Correspondent

The acting President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), Zhang Jilong, said the AFC needs to “clean up and unite” during an interview with China’s Sina Sport.

Zhang, the AFC's most senior Vice President, automatically takes charge in Mohamed Bin Hammam’s absence.

Earlier this year he ran for a seat on FIFA’s Executive Committee but lost in a vote at January's AFC Congress in Doha. He was a key member of the 2008 Beijing Olympics organising committee and is also chairman of the OCA's (Olympic Council of Asia) powerful Sports Committee and Director of the China International Sports Exchange Centre.

Chinese media have, in the past, given him the names "Hand of God" and "Brother Dragon" for allegedly convincing FIFA to change its rules for the 2002 World Cup qualifiers for the Asian zone, effectively putting China in an easier qualifying group which saw them qualify for their only World Cup.

Zhang is known to have a good relationship with former AFC secretary general Peter Velappan, who is a well-known opponent of Bin Hammam. Velappan expressed that the suspension of Bin Hammam and appointment of Zhang was "…the best thing for Asian football" in a recent interview with AFP.

Zhang told Sina Sports: “First, the environment of AFC needs a clean-up and some disharmonious factors need to be erased.

“The work of the AFC and its secretariat is to improve and strengthen. The AFC in the future will really build up the relationships with its 46 members' associations. Communicate, build up firm relations, find one voice and unite.”

Regarding the suspension of Bin Hammam, Zhang said: “"Scandals such as bin Hammam's bribery allegations harm the sport's beauty. Anyone who does not show transparency should pay for it.”

   

Worawi still fumes over allegations

Makudi has been cleared
of any wrongdoing

By Kitinan Sanguansak

Worawi Makudi, the caretaker president of the Football Association of Thailand, admitted his sense of outrage despite being absolved of David Triesman's accusations that he claims has severely damaged his reputation.

“I am still angry by the turn of events. The charges against me were very serious but groundless. It spoiled my reputation, globally. It also affected my family since they felt uncomfortable by the allegations," he said.     

“I never did what he [Triesman] had accused me of doing – asking for TV rights. The talks we had were just a direct conversation between two organisations. I gathered all documentary evidence, which include a letter from the English FA expressing its inability to send an England team to play in Thailand.

“We had no need to request for the TV rights since FIFA regulations clearly state that the rights belong to the host country.

The FAT caretaker chief, currently in Switzerland to attend the FIFA Congress, also said he would go ahead with his plan of filing a lawsuit against Lord Triesman in a British court to seek justice and salvage his reputation.

“After being cleared of any wrongdoing, I call on the Thai media to publish my side of the story and help protect my reputation and the country’s as well," he pleaded. 

“I also would like the media to examine Triesman’s background and why he had to resign from the post as the FA chairman. Last week, my team of lawyers sent a letter to the British parliament, asking for justice in the case.

“In the letter, I also asked Triesman to speak out in the public, which would give me a chance to defend myself. I want to take court action against him and would not let go until justice is done.

 

Thailand still has an eye on 2012 Olympics

Thailand in action against Palenstine in a
2012 Olympics Qualifier earlier this year

By Kitinan Sanguansak

Any hope of reinstating Thailand into the 2012 Olympic qualifiers was now hinging on the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s ruling said the caretaker president of the Football Association of Thailand Worawi Makudi late last week.

Thailand appeared resigned to accepting their fate after they had been booted out from the Olympic qualifiers for fielding an ineligible player in the home leg against Palestine in the preliminary round.

As a result of punishment, the Middle East nation, who were awarded a 3-0 victory for the game in question to secure a 4-0 aggregate win, took the Thais’ place in the second round against Bahrain.     

Previously, the Thai camp felt they had a chance of having the disqualification overturned since they thought the player in question had served his suspension in the Asian Games last year. The fact that the Asian Football Confederation never sanctioned the Games put paid to Thailand's hopes.

Thailand, though, received a lifeline after Worawi decided to make an appeal on the case with the CAS. If the court rules in favour of the Thais, they would be reinstated in the qualifying tournament for a berth in London next year.

“We already made an appeal with CAS. It should take around 10 days before we know the ruling. The AFC accepted the guilt on their part for not providing a list of suspended players for each participating team as well as the match commissioners.

“The AFC may not sanction the Asian Games but they have to sanction a game in the event. Why? Let’s think what would happen if a player committed a serious offense in the Games’ fixture. Will they let that player escape without doing anything?

“So, I think the player in question already served his ban in the Games. I raised this issue already in the discussion with the AFC and FIFA. Our fate is now hinging on the CAS ruling,” said Worawi.

Worawi also announced a new date for the FAT’s presidential election on June 17 after it earlier was postponed due to the duplication of the member clubs’ authorisation letters.

“We sent a letter to the member clubs, asking for information about the list of each club’s executives. During the previous election, we found that there was more than one representative from a club. We want to check out who is the head of each club.

“We hadn’t had an election with two candidates for a while so it was normal we faced the problem last time. We also informed SAT (the Sports Authority of Thailand) about the new date for the election,” said Worawi who came short of confirming whether there would be a new FAT president come the rearranged voting.

On the pressure on him after his FAT reign became a subject of criticism, Worawi, one of the four FIFA executive members who were alleged to ask for favour in return for the World Cup vote, lamented the unfair treatment he received.

“There has always been criticism during my time in the office. Someone might be jealous of the position I hold, domestically and internationally. I think there is a group of people who want to undermine me. It’s not fair for me,” said Worawi.

 

Setanta confirms J.League schedule for June

Setanta Sports Australia has released their schedule of J. League games for the month of June, and it's a bumper month for fans of the Japanese game.

With two midweek games being broadcast, there will be five games in total broadcast across the month, which is fantastic news given the first weekend in June is a FIFA date and therefore no J. League games will take place.

Five games in 14 days - who can't be happy with that?

Setanta's schedule for June is as follows:

10 June - Gamba Osaka vs Shimizu S-Pulse (LIVE @ 7:55pm)
14 June - Nagoya Grampus vs Albirex Niigata (LIVE @ 7:55pm)
17 June - Kashima Antlers vs Jubilo Iwata (LIVE @ 7:55pm)
21 June - Urawa Reds vs Avispa Fukuoka (LIVE @ 7:55pm)
24 June - Ventforet Kofu vs Kashiwa Reysol (LIVE @ 7:55pm)

Together with this Setanta will continue to show the J. League Highlights Show each Thursday evening at 7:30pm.

Be sure to tune in and don't miss a minute of the action.